1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a modularized structure of a rear suspension, and more particularly, to a modularized structure of a rear suspension of a hydrogen vehicle (a vehicle using hydrogen as fuel) in which two hydrogen tanks are mounted at the bottom of a floor panel or a vehicle using a battery pack as a fuel device, the modularized structure of the rear suspension being invented so that the rear suspension can be constituted by a multi-link type, instead of a conventional CTBA (Coupled Torsion Beam Axle) type, the number of modules to be assembled can be reduced to further enhance efficiency of an assembly process, and durability and NVH (Noise, vibration, and harshness) performance can be further improved.
2. Description of Related Art
Eco-friendly cars (hydrogen vehicles, electric cars, HEV and the like) which recently have been actively developed are equipped with a fuel system of another form such as a hydrogen tank and a battery pack, unlike general vehicles that use gasoline and diesel as fuel.
Typically, such a fuel system is placed near the rear suspension on a rear side of the vehicle, but the fuel system occupies a volume greater than that of the fuel tank of gasoline and diesel vehicles (in order to secure the same cruising distance as general vehicles) and may have a greater weight.
In response to this reason, the fuel system of the eco-friendly car is not directly mounted on the car body but is mounted on the vehicle body after a separate vehicle body mounting frame is coupled to the fuel system.
At the same time, in addition to the fuel system, an exhaust system similar to a vehicle using the fossil fuel is located near the suspension of the rear wheel. The exhaust system of the hydrogen vehicle in the eco-friendly cars is configured to discharge water vapor (pure water) that is generated when producing electricity by reaction of hydrogen.
FIG. 1A is a bottom view shown an aspect in which two hydrogen tanks 2, a rear suspension, and an exhaust pipe 4 (that are major components of the fuel system) are mounted at the bottom of a floor panel 1 of the hydrogen vehicle.
As shown in FIG. 1A, in the case of the hydrogen vehicle, as two hydrogen tanks 2 having great volume are mounted, restriction conditions may have occurred in adopting the rear suspension. That is, since the hydrogen tanks 2 occupy the space to the vicinity of the rear wheel, a mounting space of the rear suspension for buffering the impact of the rear wheel is limited depending on placement and size of the hydrogen tanks 2. Thus, the suspension of a CTBA type is being applied in place of the suspension of the multi-link type requiring the relatively large mounting space.
The CTBA suspension system 3 is a type in which a torsion beam 3a with trailing arms 3b each joined at both ends is arranged in a vehicle width direction, and is connected to a wheel hub 5 connected to the rear wheel, and has advantages in that the weight of the car is relatively reduced, fuel consumption is improved, and, mounting space is reduced, it is possible to increase a loading space due to a decrease in the mounting space, and it is possible to secure safety at the time of rear collision. However, there has been a problem in that the performance of ride comfort and handling of the CTBA suspension system 3 falls short of the suspension of the multi-link type due to its structural limitations, and it is difficult to be applied to, especially, a vehicle having a high weight.
At the same time, as shown in FIG. 1B, the conventional assembly structure proceeds so that after the hydrogen tanks 2 are assembled to the bottom of the floor panel 1 in advance, the exhaust pipe 4 and the CTBA suspension 3 are sequentially fastened. Such an assembly process has had a structure in which multiple modules having the large size are independently mounted to the floor panel 1, and has had a problem in that the process becomes complicated, productivity and assembly quality decline during mass production, and the production costs can be increased.
The information disclosed in this Background of the Invention section is only for enhancement of understanding of the general background of the invention and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that this information forms the prior art already known to a person skilled in the art.